About

RIDEYE: The Black Box Camera For Your Bike

$83,972

pledged of $32,000 goal

558

backers

Cycling is in our blood. We’ve all had our share of close calls, but
nothing will stop us from experiencing the freedom that bikes embody.
Last year my friend was seriously injured in a hit-and-run doing the
thing he loved most, and I promised him he would never have to ride with that fear again. Today, I’m proud to
introduce Rideye. It’s time to fight back.

In airplanes, a black box is a precision electronic device which records
what happened before a crash. This information is invaluable when
determining exactly what went wrong. Since cyclists usually ride alone,
knowing how an incident occurred is extremely important. Rideye is an
objective, omnipresent witness that protects you against hit-and-runs
and false claims. It’s the world’s first black box camera for your bike.

Rideye couldn't be easier to use. A single press of its button turns
it on and starts recording automatically. Another press, and it turns
off. Rideye's internal microprocessor handles the rest.

Rideye uses state-of-the-art lithium cells and efficient power
management to achieve an impressive battery life of 24 hours. Even if
your daily commute is an hour long, Rideye will finish the month with
charge to spare.

Rideye continuously records high-definition (1280 x 720) video onto its internal memory, which can hold 2.5 hours of video. The 120° optics cover an impressively wide field of view, recording every event and even allowing you to identify license plates in most incidents (left hand turn, right hook, and opening doors). When the internal memory is full, Rideye automatically removes the oldest video to make room for new recordings. You’ll never have to worry about downloading after each ride- it will simply be there when you need it.

In the event of an incident, a single press of the button stops
recording and saves the file. If you can't do it yourself, Rideye's
BlackBox sensor will do it for you when it detects a crash. At the center of the BlackBox system is a triple-axis accelerometer which measures Rideye's movements at a rate of 1,600 times per second. When an impact is detected, the corresponding video file is saved to protect it from being overwritten.

Rideye is unlike anything you've ever seen, and its design reflects that. We start with precision machined aircraft-grade aluminum and hard-anodize it for a brilliant, durable finish. The Lexan inlays are laser cut to a precise, water resistant fit, and sealed with an Armadillo scratch-resistant coating. Every part is manufactured without compromise.

Rideye looks beautiful on your bike. And it's built to last.

The first Rideye prototype. We've come a long way since then!

Our latest prototype.

Design

CNC aircraft-grade aluminum, powder-coated finish

Laser cut Lexan inlays with scratch-resistant finish

Dimensions: 1" x 1.5" x 3"

Weight: 185g

Video / Audio

1280 x 720 resolution, 30 FPS, 7 Mbps

H.264 encoding

120 degree wide-angle glass optical element

512 Kbps audio, mono, 32kHz, 16 bit

Hardware

BlackBox crash-detection sensor

One-touch operation button

Panasonic Lithium-Ion battery pack

8 Gb internal memory (2.5 hours of video) or 32Gb (10 hours)

Standard Mini-USB connector (cable included)

Size comparison

Check out the column on the right. We need your help to kickstart Rideye's first production run, and we have some great pledge rewards to thank you for your support.

We are also offering a very limited, Kickstarter-only DARK edition Rideye with 32GB of memory- good for over 10 hours of continuous recording.

After months of careful engineering, prototyping, and testing, we are ready to move into manufacturing. One hundred percent of the funds raised on Kickstarter will be used for Rideye's first production run. We have already established contracts with our production partners and vendors- we just need your help meeting the minimum order quantities to bring Rideye to life.

January - March: Final assembly and testing. Each camera will be individually tested for 24 hours before shipment. Finished product packaged and shipped to backers.

Risks and challenges

Rideye is ready to enter its first production run. We encountered several challenges during the past six months of engineering, and used our experience in product manufacturing to develop solutions which would yield a smooth transition from schematics to tangibles.

Electronics
We have established contracts with our PCB and component vendors, ensuring that we will be able to meet demand and ship quickly. We are using a proven imaging platform which has minimized development costs and allowed us to spend additional time optimizing the battery management and user interaction portions of our design.

Machining / Injection Molding
We have also partnered with two Los Angeles-based manufacturing shops to handle CNC machining and injection molding of our housing and mounting parts. We start with an industry standard 6063T5 aluminum extrusion to reduce tooling costs, and laser-cut our Lexan inlays to reduce waste.

Batteries
We are using cutting-edge Lithium-Ion batteries which Panasonic released just a few months ago. This gives Rideye the ability to function for weeks at a time without needing to be recharged, but securing a reliable vendor for these high-demand battery cells was challenging. We are working with a Japanese distribution company which will meet our predicted quantity, and have identified three alternative options.

We have worked hard to anticipate every manufacturing challenge we might encounter. As a final safeguard, we have added 30 days of buffer time into our master production schedule to ensure that we ship on time, even with some unplanned bumps in the road.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $229 or more
About $229

KICKSTARTER DARK EDITION: Show your pride as a backer with this highly limited edition Rideye, featuring 8X the internal memory for over 10 hours of continuous recording. Only 50 will ever be made. We'll feature you on our website as a founding contributor who helped make this project possible. This package also includes a Tee and Water Bottle.